Mikey's New Friend
by Sakura Fletcher
Summary: A 2K12 fic. Mikey meets Panthera, a mutant who saves him from Tiger Claw and Karai. Panthera is a different kind of mutant, one that the Kraang are looking for. What kind of trouble are waiting for Mikey and his family after allowing this Jaguar mutant into their lives.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a 2012 era fic that I came up with one day. I hope you like it, because I don't really know much about this installment of the franchise.**

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><p>Panthera hissed, shrinking back into the shadows of the alley, her right shoulder pressing to the hard brick of the building. The smell of that cat man had brought many memories, most being bad, back to her. He was standing in the middle of a fenced off parking lot of an abandoned auto body shop. Even the filth of the garbage bin couldn't mask that mutant tiger's smell. Even in this form, which was more powerful than the human body she could shift into, she knew that his shooting accuracy was not to be messed with.<p>

The thing he was toying with was something like himself, only a reptile. A bipedal turtle with spinning weapons faced off with Tiger Claw, along with humans dressed in black pajamas, along with one girl that seemed to be rather ruthless. But she smelled of, what was it but Panthera was not sure. The turtle himself was terrified. He was in a defensive posture and trying to figure out how to get out of that situation. Panthera knew that she needed to help that creature, the mutant.

Slinking into the shadows, Panthera moved with ease, keeping one eye and her ears on what was going on in that fenced area.

"Where's the rest of your freakish family, Turtle?" Tiger Claw asked.

The orange banded turtle didn't respond, he took a step back, making Tiger Claw step forward. That was a sure sign that the turtle wasn't prepared for the larger mutant tiger. It also meant that Tiger Claw was willing to exterminate the thing.

Panthera knew that she had to help. But how? Hunting Tiger Claw, knowing where he had gone off to was one thing, facing him without neither a plan or any sort of assistance was very doubtful in a win for the jaguar mutant. A distraction would be needed, that much she did know.

Normal jaguars didn't always roar due to being supreme stalkers in nature, and it had become useful for her down in South America. That had been what she called home after those things, those alien brains had taken her. Humans didn't bother her, they knew how dangerous jaguars could be. And in this case the humans and Tiger Claw became distracted. She could see them from her spot next to a garbage bin. Out of sight, in the shadows, just how jaguars lurked.

"What was that?" The human girl asked looking around in the dark.

"I know that sound, a female I once knew back when they turned us."

"They, you mean the Kraang?" the human girl asked, glancing at the tail-less tiger before looking back at the turtle. "Is she on our side?"

"Hardly." Tiger Claw laughed bitterly. "If Panthera wanted to she would have attacked, just to give this freak a chance to live. I knew her too well." His yellow eyes fell on the turtle. "She protects anything that can't protect herself."

And he was right to think that, because in the next second there was a blur just from their line of sight, causing the bad ninjas to turn towards it, Tiger Claw recklessly going after it with his guns. But there was nothing there, only some discarded trash bins. Turning back to their captive, well the orange banded turtle wasn't there. He, in fact, found himself a ride out of there.

"Whoa!" Michelangelo, the mutant turtle yelped, reacting by wrapping his nunchucks around the jaguar's neck to keep himself from falling off it's back.

She didn't care, and as she ran along the sidewalk, dodging in out of traffic with such grace that even ninjas had, no one really saw anything. Just a blur, that's all she was, even with a turtle on her back.

Several blocks away, the jaguar stopped, shifted and lifted her head smelling the air. Tiger Claw's roar resonated all the way down to where they were, causing people to stop and look. If any looked in that alley, they would surely see the jaguar with a largish mutant turtle on it's back.

"I uh, think this is my stop." Mikey said trying to slide off her back, loosing his weapon from around her neck.

Only this time she took off again, making him clutch on to not only his nunchuck handless but to the soft fur of the large cat. If it was in any discomfort then she didn't show it.

"You're Panthera right?" He asked as they turned down another maze of an alley.

She didn't respond. The safe spot would be hard to get to if she stopped to talk to him. Even when he started humming something that sounded like an old west song, maybe even pretending that she was in fact a horse, she didn't care. Her enhance abilities allowed for her to move quickly, like a blur to the humans. She hid well in the shadows, and moving at night was her greatest ability. She didn't have to fear much then, not even those humans that called themselves the Purple Dragons.

They had a warehouse where she found them, counting money and stuff like stolen property. It didn't take much to make them leave, they hadn't come back for the money or the things left there. Not that human property was anything worthy to her. As long as she fed well, had a den to call her home, this was just as good of a spot to nest up until she had to move on.

Even with the turtle still on her back she jumped effortlessly up to the window, both passing through. If Mikey hadn't ducked then he would have hit his head on the window frame.

"Woo! That was one rad ride," yelled the turtle as she landing on the first floor of the warehouse.

A quick scan with her sense she was satisfied that it was the turtle and her only there, Panthera laid down, signaling for the turtle to get off her back.

"So, uh," Mikey said as he watched the spotted cat head off towards some crates. "I should be getting home now."

Her head snapped to look at him so fast that he jerked back slightly. That's when Panthera lifted her head towards the skylight, and he looked too. The brightness in the slight cloud cover started pinking up the once dark sky.

"Ah Shell, it's almost morning isn't it?" He asked her.

A curt nod was his answer as she went back to what she was doing. There was a shuffle type of sound from near the crates that were in the warehouse. Then she came back around a stack of wooden crates with a pizza box in her mouth.

"Oh man, how did you know I like pizza?" He asked taking it from her.

She looked at him, sitting down and just looked him over. From head to toe and back to the top of his head. He didn't seem to mind, or notice since he was digging into the pizza box and eating at the last four remaining slices of cheese pizza. This turtle was unique, even if he did have weapons. Thumping her tail against the ground, Panthera thought about what she was going to with the turtle. Not that he was hers, she was rather fond of his childish behavior.

"So, I guess I'm stuck here until night fall huh?" he looked down at her. "I'm not sure if you understand me but I'm Michelangelo, uh, Mikey for short. So your name is Panthera right?" She nodded. "Can you talk?" No response.

She may have rescued his shell but she didn't know him well enough to take on a conversation with him just yet. Instead she stood up and headed off into the direction of an overhanging walkway. There was a mattress there with some blankets she had scavenged from a used furniture shop garbage nearby. Twisting and laying down, Panthera looked up and over at the turtle, expecting him to do the same. The action from earlier was tiring, for her at least and she hadn't done anything except bring the turtle back to her home base.

"Uh, okay." He said walking up towards the mattress. "I can use some winks, ya know."

He hopped up on the bed and bounced a little before plopping down on his side and looking at her. He did have nice big bright blue eyes for a turtle.

"See you later, Panthera." He yawned before his eyes closed and drifted off to sleep.

Moving so that her head was near his, just to make sure that he was okay she told herself. He smelled like pizza, like a bad case of pizza craft gone wrong. He even smelled like Easter jelly beans. Jelly beans and cheese, that's what he smelled like. Weird but interesting at the same time. Soon, even her amber eyes were closing against her will, or sleep was willing her to let go of the stresses going on around her.

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><p><strong>So what do you guys think? I like thoughts and opinions. Just don't flame me, man.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

It was nearing nightfall when both Panthera and Mikey woke up.

Mikey had moved so that he was cuddled against her, her tail wrapped around his thighs and her head on his. Much like Onca and herself used to do back in South America. But that was a bad memory for her to get lost in.

He was cute, for a turtle, she mused.

Mikey stretched, yawning. Panthera moved away, stretching her back and feeling the strain pull at her muscles.

"So, uh," Mikey said as he scooted off the mattress. "I guess I should be going."

Hopping off the bed, she nodded and moved towards the window. She sniffed the air, and jumped up onto the crates that was under it. No smell of humans, or Tiger Claw. No one had been around the warehouse. She looked back at the turtle and nodded towards the window.

"Oh, so it's safe huh? I can't wait to tell my bros about you, Panthera. You're the coolest cat," he jumped up to her level and smiled. "I mean it. You are a cat. Well, a spotted cat. You're a cheetah, or a leopard. Huh, my bro Leonardo is called Leo."

She blinked at him. He really didn't have a care in the world, or any idea about the scientific physiology of felines. But he was a cute turtle, even if a little scatter brained.

"So, I uh, should be going. Coming?" He asked moving so that he was stepping through the window.

She hopped back down off the crate and turned, sitting down. Her tail tapped the cement floor, waiting for him to move. If he stayed here too long then people would surely find him here. He was better off heading home, back to his family.

"I'll take that as a no then. So, uh, thanks you know. Tiger Claw really wanted to crack my shell open. So, thank you, Panthera."

She nodded, more like bowing her head in gratitude. He would have been a good friend, if she didn't always bring sorrow to the ones she had found over the years. No one seemed to be safe, not with those things after her all the time.

They looked at each other for a long time, her amber eyes looking at his bright blue eyes.

"I uh, can I come back, you know?"

She probably wasn't going to stay there for much longer. If a jaguar had a collarbone then she would have shrugged but she didn't, not in this form. Instead she opted for a different way to send the turtle off. Panthera turned and disappeared into the warehouse, disappearing into the shadows under the overhead walkway.

"Okay, Dude. Bye." Mikey sighed before he jumped out of the window and headed for the nearest manhole cover.

She stayed out of sight, and waited until she was sure he had left. Maybe she could find out where those things were, have them change her back to a proper human. She had been wanting to stay in human form but when that jaguar spirit took over, it lasted for days on end. This was the longest she had stayed in this form.

She lifted each of her paws, looking at the large feline claws. She swished her tail and sighed, bowing her head. With Tiger Claw on the loose there was no doubt he would be out there looking for her. After what she had done just to get out alive.

Panthera sighed and looked around at the place she'd been staying in for the last couple of weeks.

It was about time to move on, she thought to herself.

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><p>Mikey couldn't have been happier to be back in the sewers. He was extremely happy to be getting back to the lair so that he could tell his bros what happened. He was oblivious to the fact that he had been gone for nearly a day, but he wanted to tell the guys about the awesome cat thing that saved his shell from Tiger Claw, Karai and those Foot Bots.<p>

"Guys, guys, guys!" Mikey yelled as he hopped the turnstiles into the lair. "You guys won't believe what happened to me."

"Mikey!" His three brothers yelled back, running up to him.

He opened his arms, expecting to be hugged. But that wasn't what he got. Not in the least.

Leonardo was the first to reach him, smacking him upside the head. Raphael fully tackled him and Donatello didn't have a chance to smack at him because Master Splinter had called off his brothers.

"Dudes, what is wrong with you?" Mikey asked from he was laying on the floor near the pinball machine.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Mikey you were gone for twelve hours!" Donnie yelled as the orange banded turtle got off his shell. "You could have used your shell cell."

"I, uh, didn't think about it. Panthera was sort of," he was cut off.

"Who?" Leo asked.

"Panthera, at least that's what Tiger Claw called her."

"WHAT!" Leo, Raph and Donnie yelled.

"Yeah, I was like, you know running because that's like what I do. Anyway, I was attacked by a bunch of them Foot Bots. I got knocked off a building and then in an abandoned garage parking lot. I thought I was a goner, Dudes."

"Mikey," groaned Raph, slapping himself in the head.

"Michelangelo, please continue your tale." Master Splinter said.

"All right, all right. So there I was facing off with Karai and those Foot Bots and out of nowhere there was a roar. And not something like a tiger, but a raspy cough roar thing. Kind of sounds like Raph when he's puking."

"Mikey!"

Of course Mikey ignored his brother's yell. "And that's when Tiger Claw said that it was a female from when they, the Kraang, were experimenting on them. And then out of nowhere, I felt something run between my legs picking me up off my feet. I wrapped my chucks around it's neck, whatever it was and we practically flew out of there. Booyakasha! And guess what, I was riding a cat, a really giant spotted cat. She was huge. She took me to a warehouse and she fed me pizza and we slept together."

"What?" Raph looked at his brother.

"Not like that, bro. That's just gross, you know." Mikey shook his hands. "She found me near daybreak and by then I was shell tired. I slept through the day, she never left my side. And when I woke up, she was still there. She showed me how to get out of the warehouse and she didn't want to come with me. I mean, I don't know why she decided not to go."

"Why didn't she?" Master Splinter asked.

"Because all the time that I was there, she didn't speak. She was a giant cat, man, with red eyes. But she acted like she understood me. Would nod, and stuff like that. Come on, I want you guys to meet her. She's real, I tell you. Please!" He started begging, by jumping up and down. "Please, please, please, I want you guys to meet her." He even used his big blue eyes to his advantage.

Leo, Donnie and Raph looked at the mutant rat master. A cat and a rat meeting surely couldn't be a good thing, at least that's what Mikey's brothers thought when looking at Master Splinter.

As for Master Splinter, he ran his fingers over his chin hair. His dark eyes landed on Mikey, who bit his bottom lip, folding his three fingered hands together and tried to beg with his eyes, like he usually did with his brothers.

Master Splinter sighed. "Of course, you may go."

"Sweet, come on guys. Let's take the Shellraiser!"

"I don't know about you guys, but this doesn't sound like a good idea." Raph pointed out.

"To you maybe, but if Mikey thinks this cat thing is okay, who are we to judge. Look what happened with Leatherhead." Donnie pointed out.

"Yeah I know, but most of the time it's almost always Mikey's fault when something goes wrong." Leo added.

In the end the three remaining brothers followed their youngest brother to the modified train car known as the Shellraiser.

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><p><strong>I would like everyone to know, this generation Mikey is hard for me to write. But I like that he loves befriending people, and his carefree nature is appealing, at least to me. I hope you guys like this installment. See you in the next chapter!<strong>


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